Transom-lifter



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. PAYSON.

TRANSOM LIFTER.

No. 482,024. Patented Sept. 6,:1892.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

E. PAYSON.

' TRANSOM LIFTER. 4 No. 482,024. Patented Sept. 6, 1892.

114: NORRIE PETERS co., mofo-Lrmm, wuumarqu, a. c

' or holding device.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD PAYSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRANSOM-LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,024, datedSeptember 6, 1892. Application filed October 18, 1890. Serial No.368.529. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD PAYSON, of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTransom-Lifters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in transom-lifters of that classwhich embrace a rod adapted to slide vertically on the jamb or doorcasing, an arm or bracket attached to the transom and extendingoutwardly substantially at right angles to the latter, and aconnecting-rod or pitman pivotally connected with the said bracket andwith the said vertical rod, so that when the said rod is moved up ordown a swinging movement is imparted to the transom.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a transom with myimproved lifter applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view ofthe connection between the transombracket and the upper end of thepitman. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the same, taken on line 3 3 ofFig. 2. Fig. a is a vertical sectional view of the clutch or holdingdevice, which is located upon the jamb and grips the vertical rod tohold it in a desired position. Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section ofthe same. Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of said clutch of thefitting or head, which unites the upper end of the pitman with the outerend of the transom-bracket and illustrates the manner of attaching thefitting to the upper end of the pitman. Fig. 8 is aview in sideelevation of another form of clutch or holding device embodying the mainfeature of my invention. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the same, takenupon line 9 9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of still anotherembodiment of the main features of my invention. Fig. 11 is a section ofthe same, taken upon the line 11 11 of Fig. 10.

In the drawings, A indicates the jamb, B the transom, and O G aperturedguides located Fig. 7 is a sectional view.

upon the jamb and arranged vertically one above the other.

D is an operating-rod arranged to slide vertically in said guides O O.

E indicates as a whole a clutch or holding device supported upon thejamb and adapted to engage the operating-rod D.

F is an arm or bracket, which is attached to the transom and which isprovided with a right-angled bend, Fig. 2, so that its end extends pastor outside of the transom. Said arm or bracket is herein called thetransombracket.

G is a pitman or connecting-rod, which is pivotallyconnected with theend of the bracket and with the vertical operating-rod D and transmitsmotion from said rod to the bracket, in a manner heretofore common andwell understood.

The clutch E consists of a supporting plate or casting E, upon which aresupported two clutch plates or leaves e e. Asillustrated in saiddrawings, these clutch leaves or plates are pivotally supported at theirinner ends within said supporting-plate E, their outer ends being leftfree to move toward or away from each other. A spring 6 is appliedbetween the said clutch plates or leaves to throw apart or separate thefree ends of the same. The leaves 6 e are provided with aperturesthrough which the rod D passes, and the spring e is conveniently locatedaround said 'rod, as shown in the drawings. The apertures in said leavesare made slightly larger than the rod D, so as to permit the latter toslide freely through said apertures when said leaves are perpendicularto the rod, or nearly so, and it follows that when the leaves 9 careinclined or spread apart from each other, as shown more particularly inFigs. 1, 4, and 6, the sides of said apertures will be brought intocontact with the rod in such manner as to securely grip and hold saidrod and prevent any motion thereof in either direction. It is obviousthat any strain upon the rod D or the transom will tend to throw saidgripping leaves or plates farther from a horizontal position, and itfollows therefore that such strain upon the rod or transom will tightenthe grip of said plates upon the rod. It is furthermore obvious that thelower one of said plates 6 holds said rod against downward platestogether hold the rod from shifting in either direction.

In order to open or adjust the transom, it

'is only necessary to grasp the projecting ends of the leaves 6 e andpress them toward each other until they come to a position approximatelyparallel with each other, when the rod may be raised or lowered, so asto adjust the transom into any desired position, after which, uponreleasing the plates or leaves e e, the spring will instantly spreadthem apart, so as to again grip the rod D and securely lock the same inits changed position.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, E is made with a central opening of suitablewidth to receive 7 the inner ends of the clutch plates or leaves, I andthe hinged or pivotal joint between the said clutch-leaves and the plateor casing E is formed by providing in the opposite walls of the saidcentral opening adjacent to the inner or rear face of the plate notchese e and upon the inner ends of said clutch-leaves laterally-projectinglugs or ears e e which enter or engage said notches (2 e The saidnotches e e open at the rear face of theplate E or that which is securedagainst the jamb or door casing, and the lugs are engaged with thenotches by inserting the leaves through the opening in the plate fromthe rear side of the latter, the said lugs being held in place withinthe notches by the presence of the jamb or door casing, against whichthe plate is secured. By the construction described the pivotal jointsof the said clutch-leaves are located as far as possible from the rodwithout necessitating the cutting or recessing of the jamb or casing toreceive the plate E, it being obvious that the inner ends of the leavescome against the casing and are held in place within the notches by thesame. This construction is highly advantageous, inasmuch as it enablesthe rod to be placed close to the jamb, while at the same time providinga suitable distance between the rod and the pivots of the clamp-platesto insure the proper action of the latter. The notches e 6 are, as aseparate improvement, provided with fiat or straight surfaces or wallsparallel with the inner surface of the plate, and said notches are madewider than the thickness of the lugs and deeper laterally than thelength of said lugs, as seen in the drawings, Figs.5 and 6. By thecontact of the said lugs with the flat surfaces of the said notches thesaid plates will be held in position to properly engage the rod, whileat the same time the plates are left free to adjust themselves laterallyand in other directions relatively to the rod, as may be necessary byreason of any slight inaccuracy in the location of the plate or otherparts upon the door-casing. It will be readily seen that to obtain goodresults in the operation of the clamp-plates the inner or pivoted endsof the same should be held at a definite distance from the rod, and thefiat inner ends or surhowever,

faces of the notches accomplish this result by affording flat surfacesparallel with the rod, against which the lugs on the clamp-plates bearoutwardly when the clutch-rod is gripped by the clutch-plates. The saidplates are, free to shift freely either sidewise or by the lifting orlowering of either of their side edges, while the lugs still remain inbearin g against said fiat surfaces of the notches, so that the platesautomatically adjust themselves to the rod, and slight inacuracies inthe form or location of the parts have no effect upon the operation ofthese parts. It is obviously not essential that the plate E should havea single central opening to receive the inner ends of the clamp-plates,and said plate may be constructed otherwise in practice in this as wellas in other particulars.

As a separate and further improvement in connection with the plate E,provided with notches, and the clutch-plates having lugs to engage saidnotches, as above described, the locking device (shown in Figs. 1 to 5)is provided upon the front face of the said plate with projectingflanges or wings E E the outer edges of which standadjacent to the innersurface of the operatingrod when the parts are in operative position;but which are preferably free from contact with said red at such time.Such flanges or wings E E serve to-hold the parts of the clutch devicefrom becoming disconnected from the rod and from each other duringtransportation, it being obvious that when the plate or castingE isdetached from the door casing if the flanges E E were not present therod would be free to fall or move toward the base of the plate, so as toallow the lugs on the leaves to escape from the notches, and thus loosenthe parts in such manner as to allow them to slip from the rod andbecome detached from each other. When said plates or flanges E E arepresent, the parts constituting the clutch device are assembled orplaced together by the manufacturer and the rod slipped through thesame, after which the action of the spring holds the clutch deviceimmovably on the rod and the parts cannot become detached except byclosing together the clutch-plates and slipping the clutch endwise onthe rod until it is free from the end of the same. The said wings orflanges E E may constitute part of a casing or housing which embraces orsurrounds the leaves or spring, or both, or they may form independentprojections on the plate E. In Figs. 1, 4, and 5, for instance, theplate or casting E is made in such shape as to form a casing or housing,

which surrounds the inner parts of the leaves and the spring, and theflanges E E constitute the upper and lower end walls of the easing; butin Fig. 6 I have shown a holding device somewhat diiferent from thatshown in Figs. 1 to 5, and the plate E is flat and without any casing orhousing for the parts,aud

is provided with two projections E E ,'the outer edges of which comeclose to the rod D,

and which serve to retain the leaves or clutch plates from displacement,as hereinbefore stated.

It is essential to a practical and marketable transom-lifter that theoperating-rod should be arranged close to the door casing or jamb, and Ihave found it highly desirable that the pivots of the clutch plates orleaves should be arranged at a considerable distance from theoperating-rod, or, in other words, that the apertures in said leavesthrough which the rod passes should be somewhat distant from the pivotsof the leaves in order that the leaves may properlycatch or grip the rodwhen swung into an inclined position relatively to the rod. Both ofthese desirable conditions in atransom-lifterthat is to say, thelocation of the lifting-rod near the j amb, while at the same time thepivots of the clutch-leaves are kept at the greatest possible distancefrom the operating-rodare obtained by the construction above described,and shown in Figs. 1 to 6, in which the pivots of the clutch-leaves areformed by means of lugs or pivot-pins on the inner ends of said leaves,whichlugs or pivotpins are confined between the main plate or castingand the door casing or jamb, so that the inner ends of the plates are ineffect retained in contact with the jamb, and the pivots of theclutch-leaves are thus brought to the greatest distance from the rodwhich is possible without sinking the plate into the jamb, ashereinbefore stated. This same general feature of construction and thefavorable results arising therefrom may, however, be present in lockingdevices differing in other respectsfrom those above described. In Figs.8, 9, l0, and 11, for instance, I have shown locking devices whichcontain the general fea tures above referred to, but which differ indetails of construction from those shown in Figs. 1 to 6.

In Figs. 8 and 9, E is a base-plate or casting having in its oppositeexterior edges re cesses 6 e which open at the inner face of the plateor that which is placed in contact with the door-casing. Theclamp-plates e e are in this instance provided at their inner ends witharms 9 e, which extend outside of or embrace the plate E, and which haveon their ends inwardly-directed lugs or pivotpins 6 e, which are adaptedto engage the notches or recesses e a, above described. In thisconstruction the plate E will be preferably thickened or provided withprojections on its outer face to receive said notches, and the edges ofthe plate will be made of uniform thickness above and below, as well asopposite the notches, to enable the plates to be'engaged with thecasting by slipping the ends of the latter through the space between thearms 6 e The central openings of the clamp-plates may, however, beenlarged, as shown in dotted lines at e e in Fig. 9, andin such case theedges of the plate E need not be uniform in thickness; but when theopenings in the clamp-plates are so enlarged it will commonly bedesirable to provide the base-plate E with projections correspondingwith those shown at E E in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, inorder to retain the lugsor pivot-pins in engagement with the notches of the baseplate duringtransportation and handling of the lifter. Such projections areindicated by dotted lines at E E ,Fig. 8. When the clampplates andbase-plate are made as shown in full lines in Figs. 8 and 9, said partswill obviously remain permanently interlocked I when placed togetherwithout the presence of any part corresponding with said projections EE. In this construction, as in that hereinbefore described, the lugs orpivot-pins on the inner ends of the clamp-plates are brought in contactwith the door-casing, and the said pivots are therefore as far aspossible from the rod.

In Figs. 10 and 11 the base-plate E is shown as having on its under orinner surface two transverse grooves or recesses e 8 extending acrossthe entire width of the plate, and the clamp-plates as having openings 8(2", through which the base-plate is inserted in placing the partstogether, said openings forming cross-bars e 6 which engage the recessesor grooves 6 e and constitute the pivot or pivot-pin upon which theclamp-plates turn. In this construction therefore the pivots of theclamp-plates are located at a suitable distance from the operating-rod,while at the same time the latter is located close to the door-casing.

As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the plate E is aid in retaining the lockingdevice in place on the rod during transportation or to more firmly holdin place the rod when the same is locked in use. It will of course beunderstood that in case the base-plate used in connection with aperturedclamp-plates is not made of uniform thickness, so that it can be slippedthrough narrow apertures, the said apertures may be widened, as shown indotted lines at a Fig, 11, in which case the clampplates will be held inworking position by the presence of the door-casing, which will retainthe cross-bars e e within the notches 6 e and the presence of theprojections E E will be of value in order to'prevent the said crossbarscoming out of the notches and the holding device thereby becoming looseon the rod during the transportation.

One of the principal advantages gained by the construction in which theclam p-plates are supported by lugs or pivots engaged with notches orrecesses on the inner surface or face of the base-plate, as hereindescribed, is

that this construction enables the clamping device to be very cheaplyconstructed, inasmuchas no handwork in drilling, riveting, or otherwisefitting or connecting the parts is required, as is necessary whenpivotal joints of the usual construction are employed.

Instead of confining the pivots of the clam pplates directly in contactwith the wood composing the door -casing, an additional plate,preferably of thin sheet metal, may be placed between the base-plate orcasting and the casing, and such plate when used may be held in placeeither by the screws which secure the base-plate to the-door-casing orit may be riveted or otherwise permanently attached to the base-plate.Furthermore, when an additional plate is used between the main casting,or base-plate or casting and the door-casing, such plate may be made ofcast metal, and the recesses to receive the lugs or pivots of theclamp-plates may be formed partially in the base-plate and partially insuch additional plate or entirelyin either of said plates,it beingobvious that in either case the same general advantages above pointedout are obtainedthat is to say, the holding device may be easily andcheaply constructed and put together without special handwork indrilling or riveting in making the pivotal joints,while at the same timethe pivots of the clampplates are brought close to the door-casing.

The pitman G is connected with the vertical rod D by a clip or suitablefastening g,

within which the lower end of said pitman is Said clip or fasteningsecured by a pivot g. is rigidly secured to the rod D, so that whilesaid pitman is free to swing about said pivotal support 9' it isprevented from moving lengthwise along the rod D.

As a separate and further improvement I provide a novel form ofconnection between the pitman G and the projecting arm or bracket F.(Shown more particularly in Figs. 2, 3, and 7.)

H indicates a recessed connecting piece or head swiveled to thelaterally-projecting end or trunnion f of the bracket F in such mannerthat when the rod D is raised or lowered and the pitman G acts upon thebracket F to openor close the transom the coupling or head H is free torotate about said arm. The head is conveniently held in position uponthe trunnion f by means of a pin or rivet h, passed through said headand engaging an annular groove f upon the trunnion f. This groove is outintothe surface of said trunnion at a point which comes within therecess or socket of the head H, and the pin or rivet h serves as a stopto prevent said head from being disconnected from said trunnion. Saidhead H is formed with a socket h, adapted to be connected with the upperend of the pitman G in such manner as to rotate about said pitman, andis held in position thereon by means of an internal rib or projectionformed on or attached to the inner surface of said socket and engagedwith an annular groove or recess g formed upon the upper end of thepitman, which engages the socket h. This internal rib or projection isconveniently formed within the socket and is engaged with the pitman byfirst forming the head with an external rib 71. as shown in Fig. 7, thesocket for the pitman being made plain, and then after the end of thepitman has been inserted compressing the rib upon the outside of thehead, so as to upset the metal forming this portion of the head andforce inwardly a portion thereof, so as to form an internal ribcorresponding with the annular groove on the end of the pitman, saidinternal rib or projection being thus made integral with the socket. Bythe construction shown the head H is free to rotate about the upper endof said pitman, and the bracket F may therefore be turned from one sideto the other of the pitman, so as to adapt the device to be connectedwith either side of the transom and to be used as either a right or lefthand transom-lifter, as may be desired.

It has been common heretofore to make transom-lifters changeable fromright to left hand lifters by making the pitman or connecting-roddetachable from the bracket. My improved lifter is readily convertiblefrom a right-hand lifter, or vice versa, by simply rotating the arm Fand the head H about the upper end of the pitman G, so as to bring thearm F upon the desired side of the latter.

I am aware that transom-lifters have been heretofore made in which theupper end of the pitman has been screw-threaded and adapted to beengaged with a screw-threaded socket upon the head, said pitmanterminating in a pin, which passes through an aperture in said head andengages an annular groove in the trunnion upon the projecting-arm; butin this construction there is no permanent connection between the pitmanand bracket, it being obvious that there is liability of the head beingunscrewed accidentally in handling the device before it is attached tothe transom, and in case it is so unscrewed may .be disengaged from saidannular groove and the connection therefore rendered insecure withoutthe knowledge of the person handling the device. In this prior form ofconstruction, in order to change the device from a right to a left handlifter, or vice versa, it is necessary to rotate the head about saidscrewthreaded end of the pitman, and the liability of said head becomingdetached from the pitman is therefore increased.

In constructing my improved lifter the transom-bracket and the head Hare permanently connected together by heading the rivet h when the partsare put together by the manufacturer, and the connection between thehead H and the pitman being likewise permanent the parts are permanentlyconnected, while at the same time they are free to be moved, so as toadapt the device to be attached to the transom at either side thereof. Agreat advantage gained by this ITO construction is that there is noliability of the parts which belong together becoming separated inhandling.

It is obvious that the only object in making the parts detachable, asheretofore common, is that they may be assembled together at the timethe device is attached to the transom, so as to constitute either aright-hand or a left-hand transom-lifter, as may be desired. Muchannoyance has heretofore been occasioned from the fact that in equippinga large building with transom-lifters the brackets and other parts aremade of different sizes and lengths to correspond with the difierencesin measurement on the transoms in various parts of the building, andwhere the parts are made detachable the brackets often become mixed andwrongly applied. It is obvious that by my construction such mistakes arerendered impossible, while at the same time a cheap and durableconstruction in the litter is obtained.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the operating-rod of atransom-lifter, of a clutch or holding device comprising a base-plateadapted for attachment to the door-casing and two aperturedclutch-plates engaging said rod, said clutch-plates having at theirinner ends lugs or pivot-pins, and the base-plate being made flat on itsinner face for contact with the doorcasing and provided in such flatinner face with notches or recesses having flat Walls or surfacesparallel with the inner face of the base-plate for engagement with thelugs or pivot-pins upon the clutch-plates, substantially as described.

2. The combination, With a transom-lifter bracket and connecting-rod, ofa connecting piece or head having a permanent swiveled connection withboth the bracket and the connecting-rod, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a transom-lifter bracket provided with anannular groove near its end, of a connecting-rod provided with a similargroove near its end and aconnecting piece or head provided with socketsto receive the ends of the bracket and connecting-rod and withprojecting part-s entering said grooves to retain the said bracket andconnecting-rod in engagement with the said connecting piece or head,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a transom-lifter bracket provided with anannular groove near its end, of a connecting-rod provided with a similargroove near its end, a connecting piece or head provided with sockets toreceive the ends of the bracket and connect- ,ing-rod, an integralprojection on the head engaging the groove on the connecting-rod to holdthe same in the socket, and a rivet inserted through the head andengaging the groove in the bracket, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two Witnesses.

ED WARD PAYSON.

Witnesses:

O. CLARENCE POOLE. GEORGE W. HIGGINS, Jr.

